Office copier with articulated hinge cover

ABSTRACT

A hinge link connecting a cover to an office copier machine is completely enclosed by the cover when the cover is swung down in a closed position on the copier machine. One edge of the hinge link is connected to the top of the copier machine by a first pivotal joint and an opposed edge of the hinge link is connected to the cover by a second pivotal joint. The two pivotal joints permit the cover to be swung open around the first pivotal joint and enable the cover to be disposed substantially parallel to the copier top to accommodate articles of varying thickness placed between a platen on the top of the copier and the cover. The hinge link may be planar or it may be angular. In the latter case, the short leg of the angle is substantially the height of the cover with the other leg having a length greater than the short leg to permit the hinge link to be totally enclosed within the chamber of the cover and to enable the cover to be disposed spaced from the copier top.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 126,535 filed Mar. 3, 1980,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,847.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hinged covers and in particular relates toarticulated hinged covers for copying machines used in offices and thelike locations.

An office copying machine generally provides a rectangular platen framedby the chassis of the machine. Articles to be copied are placed facedown on the platen in order to enable illumination of the article fromthe interior of the chassis for imaging purposes. A swinging cover isprovided on top of the copier chassis to be swung down to a positioncovering the platen and to be swung up to an open position to allowarticles to be placed on the platen.

In the closed position, the cover may urge an article on the platen intoclose contact with the platen to obtain a better copy and in the closedposition the cover protects the platen which is usually made ofphotographic glass from scratches which would be reproduced by thecopier. In the closed position the copier also protects the user fromthe strong illumination normally required by modern copiers.

When the cover is in the open position, articles may be removed from andplaced on the platen.

Copying of articles thicker than a few sheets of paper such as books,magazines, etc., poses problems in the design and construction of copiercovers. A cover which is hinged with only one pivot along an edgethereof cannot be moved to lie flat against the platen, the thickness ofthe articles preventing such disposition. In this case, the free end ofthe cover usually is left spaced from the platen with the cover formingan angle with the platen, the angle being determined by the thickness ofthe article being copied.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,157,222 and 3,630,620 disclose covers for copierplatens which are essentially plates hinged at their rear margin toaccommodate articles of varying thickness. U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,222includes an attaching portion 14 secured to the copier top adjacent arear edge of the platen, a narrow portion 20 being hinged to theattaching portion 14 and a hold-down portion 16 being hinged to thenarrow portion 20. Hold-down portion 16 extends over and covers theplaten. The two joints connecting the narrow portion 20 with theattaching portion 14 and the hold-down portion 16 permit the hold-downportion 16 to be disposed above the platen over articles of varyingthickness in substantially parallel relationship to the platen. U.S.Pat. No. 3,630,620 provides a cover 12 having two like rectangularplate-like members 31 and 32 hinged along a common joint 34 and coveringa copier platen. The rearmost edge of plate 31 is connected to a supportbracket 41 by a hinge 44 with bracket 41 being connected to a joint 42spaced above the plane of the platen at the rear of the platen.

In both of these patents, opening the cover and closing it on articlesof varying thickness is awkward because of the two freely swingingjoints.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,265 discloses a cover 10 formed of a box-likehousing 22 having an open ended chamber 34 facing downward on a platen12. Housing 22 has a substantial height to accommodate an inner member26 disposed within the chamber 34 in parallel relationship to the platen12, member 26 being slidably connected in the interior of the cover 10to accommodate articles of varying thickness while the lower peripheraledges of the cover remain in contact with the copier top. The cover 10is hinged at its rear lower edge to the copier top which enables thecover to be opened and closed around that one hinge, but the cover has asubstantial height above the copier top to accommodate articles ofvarying thickness in addition to the inner member 26 and its associatedmounting hardward.

The invention herein provides a cover which is easily opened around asingle pivot at the rear of the cover and which is closed over articlesof varying thickness while maintaining a low profile on a copier top.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention an articulated hinge with two pivotaljoints is provided to be installed in the interior of a copying machinecover. The cover is rigid with depending peripheral portions defining adownwardly opening chamber which in a closed position is generallyaligned with and covers a rectangular platen on the top of the copier.

The first pivotal joint of the hinge is connected to the copier topadjacent a rear margin of the platen. The second joint of the hinge isconnected to the planar portion of the cover but is spaced from one edgethereof. The lower edge of the depending peripheral portion of the coveradjacent the first joint rests on the first joint so that opening andclosing of the cover may occur substantially around only the firstjoint. When the cover is closed over an article of substantialthickness, rotation of the cover around the first joint occurs until thecover engages the article at which time the cover is pivoted around thesecond pivot to obtain a disposition of the cover above the platen whichis substantially parallel thereto.

The hinge link may be planar or it may be angular in which case thelength of one leg connected to the first hinge joint is substantiallythe height of the depending peripheral portions of the cover to allowthe entire hinge to be contained within the cover chamber when the coveris closed. In this latter case, another leg connected to the secondpivot is substantially longer than the one leg to provide thedisposition of the cover spaced from the platen.

A layer or member of resilient foamed material may be provided insidethe cover to accommodate articles having an irregular configuration andapply even pressure to said articles when mounted against the platen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the upper portion of a prior art officecopier machine showing the rigid cover in an open position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the prior artoffice copier machine of FIG. 1 showing the rigid cover member in twoclosed positions;

FIG. 3 is a median cross-sectional view of the upper part of a copierhaving an articulated cover member similar to that of FIG. 2 but showingone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is the same view as shown in FIG. 3 but illustrating the effectof placing a book between the articulated cover and copier platen;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the articulated cover and copier topsimilar to that of FIG. 3 but showing another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 6 is the same view as shown in FIG. 5 but showing the arrangementof parts when a book is placed between the cover and platen;

FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the articulated hinge link shownin FIGS. 5 and 6; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the hinge link of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate in somewhat simplified form a typical prior artcopier machine 10' having a hinged cover 12' secured by means of thehinge 30' to the upper framing structure 16' of the copier 10'. Thehinge 30' is shown on the left and in normal use where a singlethickness document or the like is laid flat onto the transparent platen14', the cover member 12' will swing downward from the position shown inFIG. 1 in a clockwise movement to the position shown in FIG. 2. Thisposition presses the underside 28' which may be made of yieldablematerial against the document holding same tightly engaged against theplaten 14'. Light which originates on the interior of the machine 10'below the platen 14' is confined so that the operator's eyes are notexposed.

If an article thicker than a single document is placed on the platen 14'to be imaged, the cover member 12' cannot lie flat and will be somewhatraised as indicated by the broken lines of FIG. 2. Light escapes and thearticle is not held flat against the platen 14'. This assumes a relativerigid cover member 12'. Flexible cover members pose other problems.

In exterior appearance a copier machine 10 which is constructed inaccordance with the invention may not differ from the copier machine10'. Its cover member 12 may be somewhat thicker to accommodate thearticulated hinge to be described. Accordingly it can be understood thata perspective view of the copier machine 10 of the invention will notdiffer substantially from FIG. 2.

Cover 12 includes four peripheral portions 18, 20, 22 and 24 dependingfrom the four sides of rectangular planar portion or plate 26. Planarportion 26 and peripheral portions 18, 20, 22 and 24 form a downwardlyopening chamber 28' generally aligned with and above platen 14 and of asize to cover the platen. In the chamber, a member 28 of resilientfoamed material is located to urge articles having an irregular surfaceconfiguration into close contact with platen 14. A first hinge joint 30is connected to the framing portion 16 adjacent a rear margin of platen14 hingedly to connect cover 12 to the framing portion 16.

The cover 12 is capable of being rotated to an open position aroundfirst hinge joint 30 with the free opposite end of cover 12 representedby peripheral portion 20 being lifted away from platen 14 and framingportion 16. In a closed position, the lower edges of the four dependingperipheral portions 18, 20, 22 and 24 are in contact with framingportions 16 with the first hinge joint 30 being included in thedownwardly opening chamber 28' formed by cover 12.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, first hinge joint 30 is shown connected along one edgeof an elongate, substantially planar hinge linke 32 which extendssubstantially along the length of peripheral portion 24 transversely ofthe cover 12. An edge of hinge link 32 opposite first hinge joint 30 isconnected to a second hinge joint 34 which is in turn connected toplanar portion 26 of cover 12. Hinge joints 30 and 34 are parallel witheach other, extend substantially the length of planar hinge link 32 andmay be piano hinges. The lower edge 36 of dependent peripheral portion24 may rest on the first hinge joint 30 so that when cover 12 is openedby an upward counterclockwise movement, the cover rotates around thefirst hinge joint 30 and not the second hinge joint 34, the weight ofcover 12 urging lower edge 36 against first joint 30 and preventingrotation of cover 12 around second joint 34. This provides the featureof double-hinged or articulated cover 12 functioning like asingle-hinged cover for use with flat articles.

The two hinge joints 30 and 34 are capable of independent swingingmovement although when the cover member 12 is in engagement with theframing portion 16 the only swinging movement possible is that revolvingcounterclockwise about the hinge joint 30. Once the cover member 12 hasbeen raised, however, it may additionally be rotated in a clockwisedirection as permitted by the degree of counterclockwise movement whichhas been imparted to the hinge link 32. Articulated movement thusenables the cover member 12 to assume a parallel disposition relative tothe platen 14 at any of a large number of distances from the platen 14.In FIG. 4 a book 38 has been laid against the platen 14 and it can beseen that the cover member 12 engages the back of the book and enablesthe operator to press it evenly against the platen. The cover memberremains flat and parallel to the platen 14 during this operation.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the first hinge joint 30 is shown spaced from the rearmargin 40 of platen 14 so that there is sufficient room for hinge link32 and second hinge joint 34 to be connected to cover 12 withoutinterfering with the member 28 of foamed material which is substantiallyin registration with platen 14 when the cover 12 is in the closedposition. It will be appreciated that as the thickness of the articlesthat it is desired to place on platen 14 to be covered by cover 12 isincreased, the distance across the planar hinge link 32 must also beincreased and as a consequence thereof, the space 42 surrounding both,pivotal hinge joints and the hinge link must also be increased.

Another embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 inwhich angular hinge link 44 is connected between first and secondpivotal hinge joints 30 and 34. Angular hinge link 44 includes first andsecond legs 46 and 48, which are substantially planar and have a rightangle bend between them. Angular hinge link 44 extends substantially thelength of depending portion 24 and when cover 12 is in the closedposition, hinge link 44 and first and second hinge joints 30 and 34 aresubstantially contained within the chamber 28' formed by cover 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, hinge link 44 is arranged relative to cover 12 withleg 46 adjacent peripheral portion 24 and leg 48 adjacent planar portion26. This enables the member 50 of foamed material to extend within thechamber 28' formed by cover 12 closely adjacent hinge link 44, andenables first pivotal joint 30 to be connected to framing portion 16closely adjacent the marginal edge 40 of platen 14.

First leg 46 is substantially the height of depending peripheral portion24 so that, although articulated, the cover 12 may be contained in a lowprofile on top of the copier 10. Second leg 48 is longer than first leg46 to allow the cover 12 to be disposed above platen 14 to accommodatethick articles such as book 38, shown in FIG. 6. It should be noted thatthe length of leg 48 may be any desired dimension to accommodatearticles of great thickness while the length of leg 46 may be maintainedrelatively short, to maintain a low profile cover. These dimensionaldesignations of length refer to the distance transverse of the linkbetween hinge points.

As with the planar hinge link 32 of FIGS. 3 and 4, lower edge 36 ofdepending peripheral portion 24 rests on or is closely adjacent firstpivotal hinge joint 30 so that when cover 12 is opened, it rotates onlyaround first pivotal hinge joint 30, providing for a smooth opening andclosing of cover 12.

FIG. 6 illustrates how cover 12 with hinge link 44 may be disposed abovean article having substantial thickness such as book 38 with planarportion 26 disposed substantially parallel to platen 14. The member 50of foamed material conforms to irregularities in the top surface of book38 and is therefore shown modified from it substantially rectangularcross-sectional shape of in FIG. 5. It should be noted that dependingperipheral portion 20 at the front of cover 12 is still substantially inalignment with the front margin 52 of platen 14.

First and second pivotal hinge joints 30 and 34 may be attached to theirrespective framing portion 16 and planar portion 26 by fasteners such asnuts and bolts or may be fastened by bonding such as by spot welding.Angled hinge link 44 may be connected to first and second pivotal hingejoints 30 and 34 by the same means.

Angled hinge link 44 may have depending reinforcing portions 54 whichare substantially perpendicular to the legs such as is shown in FIGS. 7and 8, to provide dimensional stability for the hinge link againstbending or forces applied thereto by cover 12. Reinforcing portions 54are shown depending from leg 48, but of course they could depend fromleg 46 and they could be formed in the length of the hinge link insteadof at the ends thereof.

Returning to FIGS. 5 and 6, it is important to note that the length ofleg 46 transverse of the hinge link is substantially the length ofdepending portion 24. This enables cover 12 to have a narrow profile onthe copier top. Leg 48, however, may have any transverse dimensiondesired, the distance that cover 12 may be disposed above platen 14being determined by the distance between first and second pivotal hingejoints 30 and 34 which is the hypotenuse of the right triangle formed byperpendicular legs 46 and 48 of angled hinge link 44.

Hinge links 32 and 44 have been described with second pivotal hingejoint 34 being spaced from depending portion 24. This provides for aslight translation of cover 12 to the rear of the copier and in somecases, the front depending portion 20 may overlay platen 14 allowingillumination from the interior of the copier to leak out from underneaththe cover. Of course, the arrangement of hinge links 32 and 44 could berecersed with second pivotal joint 34 closely adjacent depending portion24 and with the first pivotal joint 30 spaced therefrom so that cover 12will be slightly translated forward of the copier when thick articlesare placed between the cover 12 and platen 14. An extension at the frontof the cover may obviate the problem.

Modifications and variations of the present invention are possible inlight of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood thatwithin the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:
 1. In anelectrostatic document copier chassis having a framing structure and anupwardly facing rectangular platen framed by said structure, said platenadapted to receive thereon an article such as a document or the likewith a surface of said article facing downwardly against the platen inorder to enable illumination of said surface from the interior of thechassis for imaging purposes, a cover member having an articulatedconnection with said framing structure and adapted for covering thearticle when the latter is in imaging position and accommodating todifferent thicknesses of respective articles being imaged, said covermember and articulated connection comprising:A. a rigid invertedtray-like member having peripheral walls defining a downwardly openingchamber and of a size and configuration normally to overlie the platen,B. a hinge link concealed within the traylike member and coupling saidmember to said framing structure for articulated swinging movementrelative to said platen,i. said hinge link having a first pivotalconnection with said tray-like member on its interior defining a firstaxis parallel with an end peripheral wall thereof, ii. and having asecond pivotal connection with the framing structure at an end of saidplaten defining a second axis parallel with and spaced from said firstaxis, iii. said first pivotal connection being the higher and innermostone of said pivotal connections, the second pivotal connection being thelower and outermost of said pivotal connections, said first pivotalconnection being in a plane spaced horizontally above the horizontalplane of the second pivotal connection, said pivotal connections beingindependently connected to said framing structure and inside of saidcover member parallel said end peripheral wall, C. the resultingarticulated connection enabling accommodation of articles of differentthickness on the platen covered by said tray-like member while saidlatter member remains substantially parallel with said platen withminimization of lateral translational movement of said cover relative tosaid platen.
 2. The invention as claimed in claim 1 in which said firstaxis is spaced substantially from said end peripheral wall.
 3. Theinvention as claimed in claim 1 in which said end peripheral wall issubstantially aligned with said second axis.
 4. In an electrostaticdocument copier chassis having a framing structure and an upwardlyfacing rectantular platen framed by said structure, said platen adaptedto receive thereon an article such as a document or the like with asurface of said article facing downwardly against the platen in order toenable illumination of said surface from the interior of the chassis forimaging purposes, a swinging cover member having a concealed connectionwith said framing structure and adapted for covering the article whenthe latter is in imaging position and accommodating to differentthicknesses of respective articles being imaged, said swinging covermember and connection comprising:A. a rigid cover member including agenerally rectangular planar plate with depending peripheral portionsdefining a downwardly opening chamber generally aligned with and abovesaid platen and of a size to cover at least said platen, B. hinge meansfor connecting said rigid cover member along one edge thereof with saidframing structure, said hinge means and configuration of said rigidcover member being such that the plate is spaced from and parallel withsaid platen when the peripheral portions are substantially engagedagainst said framing structure, and said hinge means being substantiallycontained within said chamber when said peripheral depending portion issubstantially engaged against said framing structure, said hinge meanscomprising:i. an elongate articulated hinge link extending between therigid cover member and the framing structure, ii. a first pivotal jointbetween the hinge link and said framing portion, said first pivotaljoint being the lower and outermost of said pivotal joints, and iii. asecond pivotal joint between the hinge link and said rigid cover member,said second pivotal joint being the upper and innermost of said pivotaljoints, both of said joints being rotatable on axes parallel with oneanother and spaced apart, iv. said first pivotal connection being in aplane spaced horizontally below the horizontal plane of the secondpivotal connection, said pivotal connections being independentlyconnected to said framing structure and inside of said cover memberparallel said end peripheral wall, C. the rigid cover member therebybeing swingable relative to said framing structure and capable ofassuming dispositions relative to said platen at varying distances abovesaid platen with minimal lateral translation of said cover relative tosaid platen to accommodate while substantially covering respectivearticles of varying thickness placed upon said platen, said hinge meansbeing concealed within said cover member when said cover member isengaged against said framing structure.
 5. The invention as claimed inclaim 4 in which the lower edge of the rear depending peripheral portionadjacent said one edge is adjacent the first pivotal joint so as toconceal the hinge link with said rigid cover member when said rigidcover member is engaged against said framing structure.
 6. The inventionas claimed in claim 5 in which said pivotal joints are of the pianohinge type.
 7. The invention as claimed in claim 5 in which said loweredge rests above the first pivotal joint.
 8. The invention as claimed inclaim 4 in which said hinge link and pivotal joints extend substantiallythe length of said one edge.
 9. A hinge link for coupling a cover memberto the top of an electrostatic copier machine adjacent a transparentplaten against which a document or the like article is adapted to beengaged, the copier machine having a framing structure around the platenand the cover member being of a configuration adapted to overlie theplaten and generally having a rigid inverted shallow rectangular trayhaving peripheral end walls, the hinge link comprising an elongate metalmember having opposite edges, hinge joint means on said opposite edgesadapted independently to be connected to said framing structure and theinside of said cover member parallel one peripheral end wall, said hingejoint means including first and second hinge joints, said first hingejoint being the innermost of said hinge joints and located higher thansaid second hinge joint, the second hinge joint being the outermost ofsaid hinge joints, the first hinge joint being located in a plane spacedhorizontally above the horizontal plane of the said second hinge joint,said hinge providing a pair of pivoting axes parallel to one another andspaced apart whereby if so connected between said cover member and saidframing structure the cover member will be articulated and able toaccommodate articles of different thickness between itself and theplaten while remaining substantially parallel with said platen.
 10. Thehinge link according to claim 9 characterized in that the metal memberis flat and planar.
 11. The hinge link as claimed in claim 9characterized in that the arms have different widths.
 12. The hinge linkas claimed in claim 9 characterized in that the tray is rigid overalland the peripheral walls define a donwardly opening chamber of a sizeand configuration normally to overlie the platen, said hinge joint meansbeing concealed within the tray.